Case Study
Homegrown Hero
Is Chef Josh Eggleton’s grow-your-own approach the key to a blooming business?
The Pony and Trap, Chew Magna, has built more than a name for itself – despite its peaceful location. Under the expert eye of celebrated chef Josh Eggleton and sister Holly, it would be hard to find a restaurant that celebrates its community, as well as its garden, so well. It's On catches up with the duo to learn the secrets behind their success as a sustainability-minded, thoroughly British gastro-pub.
The Natural Look
How tableware makes the meal
Josh Eggleton, The Michelin-starred Pony and Trap's passionate chef and co-owner, knows the importance of locally-sourced ingredients. Built on the back of a flourishing kitchen garden that influences its seasonal menus, Pony and Trap uses the best of British wherever Josh can find, build or grow it.
And to fully tap into to the farm-to-fork focus that Josh does so well, the Pony and Trap takes its tableware seriously. "I try to look for tableware that has artisanal value and is a part of our environment," Josh explains. "It's great to see that Nisbets is also starting to look into that as well, using British potters and natural designs," he adds.
"We like to work with British-made products. Nisbets is a local company to me, and I'm proud to showcase them wherever possible.”
To bring out the best in his dishes, Josh looks for tableware boasting organic shapes and tones and speckled finishes – which provide a rustic backdrop for the fresh ingredients he uses. Wooden boards and copper bowls round out the look, bringing the authentic, natural feel of Josh’s menu well and truly to the table.
Shop now >"We like to work with British-made products, through furniture, service pieces and pottery. Nisbets is a local company to me, and I'm proud to showcase them wherever possible"
Josh Eggleton, The Pony and Trap
Best of Both
Multiple menus and how to display them
Despite an ever growing reputation as one-you-have-to-visit, Josh’s Pony and Trap is anything but exclusionary. With a determination to cater for both passionate foodies and everyday punters alike, his menu offers a thrilling mix of pub classics and finer dining fare. But even his simpler pub staples are made with the fresh, sustainable and local ethos that has put Pony and Trap firmly on the culinary map. The Trap might serve a cheese sandwich, for instance, with a lathering of butter churned in house, a slab of locally sourced cheese and two slices of bread from the on-site bakery.
But despite the equal helping of passion that goes into each menu, the Trap takes care to differentiate between the two. Finer dining dishes are served up on beautifully crisp whiteware, allowing their colours and textures to stand out like fine brushstrokes on a fresh canvas. Simpler fare gets an earthier backdrop, tapping into its rustic feel. As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes. And the Trap knows this only too well.
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Natural from the Ground Up
How grow-your-own is taking root
Self-sustainability is more popular than ever – with the public and operators both putting eco-friendliness higher on their lists of priorities than ever before. Fuelled by this green shift, diners are calling for the provenance (or origin) of their food to be available in ever increasing numbers too – with local or, ideally, self-grown produce a mark of quality in a way it simply hasn’t been before. Josh agrees: "There are a lot of people out there looking to grow their own,” he says. “That reconnection with nature is so important."
And it’s not just your eco-credentials that could blossom by following in Josh’s (muddy) footsteps. Having a kitchen garden can add value from bar to table. Lemon Verbena infused with a gin & tonic, or Apple-Marigold-seasoned local meats – working with what you have not only makes each dish at the Trap unique in taste, but josh claims it challenges him to improve his menu, opening new possibilities around the whole plants at his disposal. "Using fresh and local produce not only guarantees an amazing experience for your diners,” he stresses. “It's making the best of what Britain can offer."
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